Ex-Fed Sentenced For Tipping Mobsters

A former FBI agent who had been credited with helping to cripple the New England Mafia was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison Monday for protecting his top mob informants, including tipping them off to their indictments.

John Connolly, 62, declined an opportunity to speak at his sentencing hearing. He blew a kiss to relatives seated in the front row as he was escorted, without handcuffs, from the courtroom.

U.S. District Judge Joseph L. Tauro had rejected motions from both the prosecution and the defense to deviate from federal guidelines, which called for a sentence of eight years, one month to 10 years, one month.

Tauro had been deluged with 200 letters from friends of Connolly asking for leniency. He also received letters — including one from Robert Jordan, assistant director of the FBI office of professional responsibility — asking him to impose the maximum sentence.

The judge also rejected defense requests that he be freed on bail pending appeal or that he be allowed to report on his own to begin serving his sentence.

Connolly was considered a top agent for his help in breaking the New England Mafia in the 1970s and 1980s by using information he got from top-echelon FBI informants James "Whitey" Bulger and Stephen "The Rifleman" Flemmi.

Connolly retired from the FBI in 1990 and was convicted in May of racketeering, obstruction of justice and lying to an FBI agent. The charges said he tipped off Bulger and Flemmi that they were under investigation and, later, that they were about to be indicted.

Bulger fled and is still a fugitive, with a prominent spot on the FBI's "Most Wanted" list. Flemmi is in custody awaiting trial for his alleged role in 10 murders.

Special U.S. Attorney John Durham had urged the judge Monday to impose a sentence that would show the public "there are no special rules for those people who are well connected."

"It should tell the public that there is no person who is above the law," he said.

Durham scoffed at Connolly's claims that he didn't realize while he was the FBI's handler for Flemmi and Bulger that they were committing serious crimes, including murder.

Defense attorney Tracy Miner said in court that Connolly cultivated Bulger and Flemmi as informants at the behest of his superiors.

"Did he become to close to Mr. Bulger and Mr. Flemmi? Obviously he did, but that was the position the FBI placed him in," she said.

In pronouncing sentence, Tauro said he was particularly concerned about Connolly's conviction for obstruction of justice and noted Connolly encouraged Flemmi to give false testimony at a federal court hearing.

"These were no mere fraternity house pranks," Tauro said.

Tauro said he imposed the maximum sentence under the guidelines because he wanted to show the justice system has "zero tolerance" for someone who obstructs justice.